Door-operating mechanism.



J. M. ROHLFING.

D'OOR yOPERATING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED IIIAII. I4. 1911.

1 ,149,21'9. Patented Aug. 10, Y1915.

7 SHEETS--SHEET l.

FIN

L WITN ESSES ATTORNEY l. M. ROHLFING.

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION man 111111.14. 1911.

Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

I SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ATTORNEY J. M. ROHLFING. DOOR OPERATING MECHANISNI. M'ucmon mp0 MAR. 14. 191|.

Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

I SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR ww. W

WITN ESSES J. M. ROHLFING.

DOOR OPERATING MCHANISM.

APPLICATION man MAR. 14. 1911.

Patented Aug. IO, 1915.

I SHEETS-SHEET 4.

INVENToR ATTORNEY WITNESSES J. M. ROHLFING. DOOR OPERATING MECHANlSM.

APPucATloN men MAR. 14. 191|. 1,149,219. Patented Aug. 10,1915.

1 sains-sneer; l

ATTORNEY 1. M. ROHLHNG. oooR OPERATING MEcHAmsM. l APPLICATION FILED MAR. I4, 19.1 l.

Patented Aug. 10 1915.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

INVENTOR J. M. ROHLFING.

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLlcmoN FILED MAR. 14. 191 l.

Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

7 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WITN ESS E5v ATTORN EY UNITED sTATEs PrgENT OFFICE.

JOHN M. ROHLFING, F ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN CAR AND FOUNDRY COMPANY, 0F ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Application Bled March 14, 1911.

` certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a tull, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and to use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the. preferred .form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereot will occur to persons skilled in the art.

In said drawings: Figure l is a longitudi-` nal horizontal sectional view through the hopper 'of a car and illustrates in top plan view my improved doors applied to the discharge opening thereof. Fig. 2 is an end elevation otI a portion of the hopper, the view being taken on the plane indicated by line 24-2 of Fig. 1 and pai'ts ot' the car structure being illustrated in sect-ion. The doors are here shown by t'ull lines as being fully closed and locked,` and by heavy dotted lines as being partly closed. Fig. 3 is a view similar to'that shown in Fig. 2, but the parts being shown diagraininatically. `In this' view the doors are represented in process of being opened beyond the position illustrated in Fig. 2L Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section taken on the plane indicated by line l-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a top plan view ofthe end portion of one ot the double doors showing ,the operating mechanism applied thereto and illustrates, nin section, the supports 40 for said mechanism pendant from the ear body. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane indicated by 'line (3-6 of Fig. 5, the parts being shown on an en- 'larged scale. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional 4view taken on the plane indicated by line 7 7 of Fig. 5, the parts being seen on a scale corresponding with that shown in Fig. 6. Fig. S is a detail perspective view of the detachable operating lever. Fig. 9 is a fragmental side view taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 5 wherein. the door operating mechanism has been removed to more clearly show the locking mechanism.

The object of this invention is to provide Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Au". 10, 1915.

serial No. 614.489.

1 a car of the hopper bottom type which shall have. a maximum ai'ea of discharge-door opening in proportion to the size of the car and to provide a door, or more correctly, a pair of two part or compound doors, which may be readily operated by an operator, at the side of the car for closing said door opening. A further object is to provide an operating mechanism for these doors which will permit of practically simultaneous opening and closing of each pair of doors, the mechanism being arranged and connected so as to be capable of operation from either side or end' of the car.

A further object lis to so proportion the doors and to so position their means of opbottom of the car and the roadbed may be reduced considerably beyondk that which would be required were a pair of single doors employed to control a discharge open? ing of the given size.

The doors are arranged preferably longitudinall y of the car and are four in number, a pair, or two doors, upon each side of the center line of said car. The operating mechanism for the doors is composed of parts briciy stated as follows: Two operating shafts1-1 disposed one upon each side of the hopper and extending from end to end thereof; four gears as at 2 fixed one to each end of each-shaft 1; four door operatin members as 3-3 shiftable transversely o the car and disposed two at `:ach end of said hopper, arranged each to engage and to be shifted by the adjacent gear 2 on the respective operating shafts 1 and each extending from the said gear inwardly toward the median line of the'ca r. Four segmental pinions as 4 operatively engage the inner end of each of the shiftable door operating members 3.; two longitudinally shit'table doublefaced rack-bars as atk 5 are arranged along thel median line of thecar at opposite ends of the doors, and eachI of said rack-bars are operatively engaged by the adjacent pair of segmental gears 4, said rack-bars serving as 'a positive support and lock' for the inner ends of the doors when the saine ai'e closed y and finally said door operating mechanism comprising means connected with each of the doors and arranged to be engaged by ,the transversely slidable operating members 3 .eration that the clearance space between the y for positively controlling the movements of the doors.

Itfwill become apparent from the following detail description of the parts, and from the description of the operation thereof, that will produce a movement of the rack-bars 5 toward each other or to positions beneath the adjacentjedges of the respective doors. It will also become apparent that the various steps of the operation are so timed that the inner or locking ends of the rack-bars will not be caused to project into position beneath the edges of the doors until after the doors are fully closed, but when so projected said locking bars constitute a positive and independent support for said doors.

'The operating mechanism for the doors is duplicated at each end thereof and said mechanism is also duplicated upon each side of the median line of the car. The operating mechanism is so connected that each of the four units, of which it is obviously composed, Will be subjected to simultaneous operation When anyone of the units is operated. It is therefore, only necessary `to illustrate and describe in detail `one'of these ico un'its; that is, that portion of the operating mechanism Which lies at one end of the doors and upon one side of the said median line.

The body of-the car is preferably of metal construction, comprising side plate girders, or supporting members which are' adapted to carry the load. These girders are shown only in fragment in Figs. '1, 2 and 4. The

numeral 6 indicates the bottom or tension' angle of one 'of said girder's and 7 the plate thereof. To these parts are secured the usual vertical stilfeningposts 8. Fixed to the side gil-ders and depending obliquely therefrom are the side hopper plates 9 9.

Theend plates as 10 ofthe hopper are secured at their opposite edges to the adjacent side girders and are extended downwardly to the bottom edge of the side hopper plates 9 to the adjacent edges of which they are also secured. A discharge-door opening of unusual proportionate size is formed by the lower edges of the side and end hopper plates.

Hinged at the lower edge of each of the side hopper plates 9, preferably in hingemembers as at 11 secured to a suitable horizontal sti'ening angle as v12 along the bottom edge of said plate, is a door 13 extending, in Width, from the lower edge of the plate 9'to a point slightly more than midway between the bottom edge of the said plate and the median line of the car, and

edgeof said door 13 and the median line of .l

the car. Other doors 13 and 14, duplicates of those just described, are disposed upon the opposite side of the median line so as to close the discharge-openingspace upon the other side of said median line. the doors 18 and 14 is composed of a top plate 15 stiifened along its inner and outer edgeby longitudinally disposed Z-sections 16, the web of the Z-sections being arranged, in eaclrinstance, to depend from the bottom face of the plate 15 at points spaced from the adjacent edges thereof.

The upper flanges of the Z-sections are disposed to lie fiat against the bottom faces of the plates 15 and to extend practically to the edges thereof. The lower oppositely disposed 'langes are arranged to project inwardlytoward the median line of each of the respective doors.

The hinge-members 17 attached to, and supporting, each of the doors 13 are fixed to the outerl Z-sections 16 and are arranged so that the axis of the hinge shall be above the face of the door, thereby insuring a full opening of the door for affording an increased outlet. The said hinge members extend into pivotal engagement With the hingemembers 11 supported at the lower edge ofthe hopper side plates 9. The hinge" members 18 of the doors 14 are secured tothe Z- sections 16 adjacent thel free edges of the doors 13 and extend into pivotal engagement with similar members 19 secured tothe adjacent edges of said doors 13.

In closed position the free edges of kthe doors 13, and hence the adjacentiedges of the doors 14, are supported 'upon suitable stationary supporting lugs 20l formed upon arms 21 depending from the adjacent edges of the end plates 10. Each of the arms 21 is reinforced in its connection to said end plate l() by rivet connection to a stifl'ening member 22 fixed to the under side of said plate. The supj'iorting lugs 20 are preferably cylindrical in form and are arranged so that the center thereof shall lie in the saine straight line as the axis of the door `hinge when the same is closed.

Fixed to the under side of each end of the door 13 is a castingQf'l. This casting is disposed between the depending Webs of the longitudinal stifl'eni-ng Z-sectionsl. The casting is formed With an upper horizontal plate 24 extending from the web' of one of the Z-sections 16 to the web of the other Z-section and secured by rivets to the top plate 15 for stiflening said plate at its end.

Each of Y atA ioo

27 which extends beyond the end of the` Z-section 16 and below the same, is arranged to support, at a point Somewhat below the upper surface of the door, a roller 28, more clearly shown in Fig. 5 which roller is designed to project outwardly from said flange Y and to be engagedby adepending lug 29 formed upon the under surface of the outer end of the transversely slidable door operating member 3 for swinging said door about its pivot.

yFixed to the under side of each endof' the door 14 is a casting 30. This casting is disposed between the depending webs of the stiffening Z-sections 16, secured to the bottom face of said door. The casting 30 is formed with an upper horizontal plate 31 extending from the web of one of' the Z-seetions 16 to theother of the Z-sections., and is'secured by rivets to the top plate for stifening said plate at its opposite ends.

y The casting 30 is als@ formed with depending end flanges 32 and 33 lying flat against i. (so

theadjacent faces of the webs of' the Z-sections. A flange as 34 depends from the outer edge of the horizontal plate fldownwardly to the bottom' edges of the flanges 3Q andi land serves to connect sald flange 32 with said flange 33.

Extending'` from the bottom edge of the flange 34, to a point somewhat below the lower' surface of the Z-sections 16 is an arm 35, af the lower end of which is pivotally mounted a sp1-ing latch 36 adapted to engage a cooperating lug 37 projecting outwardly from the face of the depending flapge 27 of the casting 23 on the door 13. J

Formed upon the latch 36 and extending radially from the pivot thereof in the arm 5 is an arm 38 adapted to engage a depending lug 39, adjustably mounted upon the support 2l, for a purpose which'will be hereinafter described. The arm 35 on the door 4leiis formed with a limiting stop 40 adapted to be engaged by a similar stop 41 formed upon the latch 36 for maintaining the proper relative position of said latch with the door 14. A suitable pocket 42 is formed in the arm for receiving a spring 43 adapted to maintain engagement between the stops 40 and 41.

Formed integral with the casting 30 on the en`d of door 14 is an arm 44 which is disposed`parallel with and is off-set so as to be partly spaced from the end of the door.

The arm 44 extends to a point slightly beyond the vertical plane of the pivot line of said door' with the door 13 and above the horizontal plane of the said pivot line and is adapted to support at its free end an outwardly extending anti-friction roller l5 designed to be engagedby a portion of the member 3, for a purpose hereinafter described. i

The lower 'face of the arm 44 is recessed as at 46 and said recess is adapted to rest, when the doors are closed, upon the upper surface of the stationary support 20 fixed to the hopper plate 10.

Arranged upon the opposite sides of the hopper, below the side girders, and supported in bearings 47 fixed to the tension angles 6 of said gil-ders and to the adjacent hopper plates 9, are the operating shafts 1, to the ends of which the gears 2 are fixed. Each of the gears 2 is adapted to engage the teeth of a rack 48 formed upon the upper side of the outer end` of the adjacent member 3 for moving said member for operating the doors. Fixed to each of the shafts at a point intermediate the length thereof, and convenient of access to an operator, is a lever socket 49 adapted to receive the shouldered end 50 of ,the detachable operating lever 51 for rotating said shaft.

The operation of the doors requires that the shafts l be partially rotated in unison first in one direction and then in the other. This fact renders it necessary that there be provided a pair of sockets '49 disposed in opposite relation so that the end of' the operating lever may be inserted into either of said sockets, according to the direction into which it is desired to rotate the shaft at a given time. These sockets may be formed in a single casting, as illustrated, or may be formed into two separate castings, if desired. v

The door operating member 3 is transversely slidably supported by a bracket 52 depending from the end plate of the hopper. This bracket is formed of a pair of r vertlcally disposed plates, one upon each.

side of the member 3. An anti-friction roller 53 is mounted between the inner faces of these plates near the lower edges thereof' and the member 3 is adapted to rest slidably upon this roller. A roller 5l, similar to the roller 53, is fitted above the member 3 opposite the roller 53, and is designed to.

slidably receive a .guiding-feather 56 formed v upon the upper surface of the member 3 adjacent the inner end thereof.

Spaeed from the inner end of the member 3 and formed in the undery surface thereof is a recess 57. The recess 5T is formed in such manner as to provide an outwardly facing vertical shoulder 5S which` when the doors are locked. will assume a position slightly outside the vert-ical longitudinal plane of the center line of the roller 45 on the door 14, and so as to bring a flat under surface as 55) of said member 3 into position above said roller, and from 'said roller to said shoulder, which fiat under surface is adapted to engage the` upper surface of the roller, for maintaining the door 14 in its closed position pending the insertion of the end of the bar 5 beneath the outer edge thereof. At the extreme inner end of the member 3 a head (5() is formed provided with a transversely horizontally disposed slot 61.

Horizontally, pivot-ally supportedfat the lower end of a suitable bracket as 62, de pendent from the end structure of the car, is one of the segmental pinions 4, the teeth of which are adapted to engage rack teeth formed in the vertical sides of the locking vbar 5. A. radially extending armv 63 is formed upon the pinion 4 and projects into sliding engagement .with the slot 61. The bars 5 at opposite ends of the hopper are supported by heavy depending brackets 64 fixed to adjacent reinforcing members (35 of the hopper end plates. y

The operation of the parts for, openingI the door is as follows: Assuming the doors tobe locked, the parts of the operating mechanism are in position as shown by full `lines in F ig. 2, the door operating members 3, are in their outermost position and the flat undersurface 59 of these members rests upon the roller 45, which projects ,from the offsetoperating lever arm 44 of the door 14 (shown in top view in Fig. 5 and in side View in Fig. 9) and the under concave portion 46 (shown in Figs. 3 and 9) of the said offset lever arm rests upon the supporting lng 20 which is stationary and is secured .to the car body plates 10 by a brace 21; in this position, referring particularly to Figs. 2, 5 and 9, it will be seen that the oliset operating arm 44 is in its horizontal position and that the door 14 owing to the projection of the said olfset lever arm be yond the hinfged axis of the door 14 would hold the said door in closed position on account of the pressure of the flat undersurface 59 of the door operating member 3 bearing upon the projecting roller 45 and thesaid door 14 would also be held in closed position by thelock bar 5. Rotation of the shaft 1,in acontraeclockwise direction(Figs. 2 and 5) will, through the gear 2, move the rack 48, which rack is integral with the' slidable ldoor operating member 3|, and movethe said member inward toward 'the cen ter of the car. This operating member 3 through a sliding pivot connection with the extensionn 63 of the segment 4.operates to withdraw the central locking bar 5, which operation is accomplished very expeditiously owing to the length of the radial extension 63 and the sliding pivot Aconnection with the operating bar 3. In factthis action is so timed that the central locking bar 5 is moved from locking position before the roller 45 can enter the recess 57i-and the door 14 cannot -drop until the offset operating lever arm 44.1'otates concentrically with the hinged' axis of the door, which. can only occur when the roller 45 enters the recess 57. This permits the door to swing downward by gravity rotating on its own hinged axis restrained only by the offset lever arm 44 as the roller 45 presses.

against the shoulder 5 8 of the door operating member 3. l As the door voperating member 3 moves farther inward toward thel center of the car the shoulder 7'() of the recess 57 forces the roller 45 of the oset operating lever arm 44 to move farther` around on its hinged axis until the latch 36 of the door` 14 engages the lug 37 on then door 13. The door 13 is heldin closed position until the ofsetoperating-lever-armroller 45, having caused the two doors tol latch together, reaches the lower end of the shoulder of the operating-l menrber 3 where the said shoulder is inclinedor cut away outwardly, the door 13 will drop, the roller 28 carried on the outside of the said door 13 (Figs. 2, 3 and 5) and abutting against the lug 29 of the slidable door operating member 3 will carry the slidable door operating member to first position on account of the weight of the doors pressing against said lug 29. l l

To close and lock the door the shaft 1 is rotated as before, in a'contra-clockwise direction (Fig. 3). The lug E29 engaging the roller 28- will swing the door 13 upwardly.

As the position shown by full lines in said figure is reached, the arm 38 of the latch 36 will engage the/lower end of the adjustable 'lug 3S) and the farther upward movement of the door 13 will cause the arm to bedepressed so that the hitch 36 will be released l from the lug 37 and bring the recess 46 in Contact with the fixed supporting lug 20 whereupon 'the door 14 will fall byglavity to i a perpendicular position and during such operation the weight of the doors will rotate the offset operatinglever arm 44, and the roller 45 carried thereby will bear against the shoulders 70 of the recess 57 and cause the otl'set operating lever arm which operates lconcentric with the door hinges to slide over or around the fixed supporting luvl 20, the axis of which lies in the same straight vline as the axis of the door i hinges, beyond the center of the said supporting lug 20 hooking thereon and holding the door 1'3 in uppermost or closed position,v

and sin'iultaneously with the swing of ther i said operating lever arm 44 around the lug 20, which occurs too rapidly to permit the door 13 to dro the operating member 3 s forced outwar by the roller 45 of the operating lever arm 4-1 which said roller operates against the shoulder 70 of the recess 57 of the operating member 3 and thereby places the said roller 45 in position to be engaged by the shoulder 58 of said recess 57 when said shoulder is moved outwardly by a clockwise rotation of the shaft 1. As

the roller 45 is forced before the said shoulder 58 the arm 44 will be caused to move -concentrically above the supporting lug Q0 'and to assume the position illustrated by full lines in Figs. 2 and 9 with the concaved under face thereof resting solidlv upon the upper face of the'supporting lug 20.

As the member 3 is moved to its outermost position; that is, the position in which it is illustrated in full lines (Fig. 2), and while the Hat under surface 59 of the member 3 is moving above the roller l5 and thus maintaining' said door in its closed position, the locking-bar 5 will be thrust beneath the free edge of the door 14 by the rotation of the pinion 4 and the closing and locking operation Will be complete.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. A pair of gravitating compound doors, operating mechanism therefor, and movable means actuated by saidoperating mechanismand engaging with and locking said doors. i

2. A pair of compound doors, operating mechanism therefor, and movable means actuated by the door operating mechanism and engaging'with the inner edges of said compound doors and supporting the same in closed position.

3.'A pair of compound doors, operating mechanism therefor, a latch engaging with and supporting the inner edg` of one of said doors in lts open position, means operated by the door for releasing' said latch,

and operating mechanism and releasing.

mechanism carried by said door operating vmechanism for releasing the other of said compound doors.

4. A door pivoted along one of its edges, a second door pivoted to the free edge of the first-named door, means for folding said second door upon the first-named door, and

,means carried by and engaging between said doors for maintaining said folded position.

5. A door pivoted along one of its edges, a second door pivoted to the free edge of the firstnamed door, means for folding the second door upon the Inst-named door, means permitting opening of the two doors together after suchfolding, and means carried by grid ,engaging between said doors for mainaining said folded position.

6. A door pivoted along one of its edges, 'a' second door pivoted to the free edge of the first-named door, operating means for said doors, means for folding the second door upon the first-named door, and a latch adapted to engage and maintain the doors in folded position.

T. A pair of compound doors the doors of each pair being pivotally connected together, means for moving one of said doors upon its pivot and means for interlocking one of said doors with the other door before the latter reaches its full o en position.

8. A pair of compounc doors the doors of each pair being pivotally connected together, meansfor moving one of said doors upon its pivot, means for interlocking one of said doors with the other door before the latter reaches its full open position, and holding and supporting mechanism for said doors controlled by the operating mechanism.

9. A pair of compound gravitating doors, operatinr and looking mechanism therefor and for folding one door upon the other, and means on opposite sides of the car for actuating the door operating mechanism 10. A door pivoted along one of its edges, means for swinging said door into a closed position, an offset arm, a stationary support therefor, and means whereby said arm is released by the swinging of the door.

11. A door pivoted along one of its edges, means for swinging said door into a closed position, an offset arm, a stationary support therefor, and means whereby said arm is released by the swinging of the door, said arm constitutinga supporting lug for said door.

12. A door pivoted along one of its edges, mechanism engaginf the door and closing the same, a second oor pivotally connected to the free edge of said first-named door and ol'set lever arms carried by the second door and adapted to maintain the first door in closed position. H

13. A door pivoted along one of its edges, mechanism engaging said door to close the same, a second door pivotally connected to tlie'iree edge of said first-named door, a leier carried by the second door and adapted to maintain the first door in position, and a locking bar actuated by the door operating mechanism to engage beneath the free edgeof the second-named door to lock it in closed position.

14. ln a door operating device for oars, a door pivoted along one of its edges, a support for the free edge of said door attached to the car, means for swinging saiddoor to a closed position adjacent said support, a second door and means carried by said second door adapted to engage said support for maintaining said first door in a closed position.

oted ulongfone of its edges, ny second door pivotally connected to the free edge of said first door, a slidnbly mounted door operating member, means for sliding said operat-A ing member, means formed upon said operating member adapted to close one of said doors, means formed upon said operating member adapted to close said second door, means carried by said second door for locking said first door :md means operated by said operating member adapted to looking said second door.

16. In a door operating device, a door pivoted along one of its edges, n second door pivotnlly connected to the free edge of said first door, n slidnbly mounted. door operating member, means for sliding said operating member in two directions, means formed upon said operating member adapted to close one of said doors When said operating 2@ outer door before the outer door reaches its full open position. v

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN M. 'ROHLF'INGn Witnesses:

J. H. BRU'EGREMAN, CHARLOTTE E. WITYE. 

